Fire extinguisher



Oct. 26 1926.

1,604,380 H. H. BOYCE FIRE EXT INGUI SHEB Filed Sept. 29,A 1920 2 Sheets-Shree?. 2

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; ATTORNEYS.

Patented @et Z5, 1925.

@NTE STATES MMM@ YPATENT QFFEQE.

tLBRS/ON H. ROYCE, OF FOREST HILLS, NEVI YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BOYCE AND VERDER CO. INC., OF LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FIRE EXT NGUISHER.

Application filed September 29, 1920. 4Serial No. 413,528,

' ing it necessary to remove the same from its support and to carry it to the scene of the lire.

rlhis invention is more particularly eoneerned with an extinguisher which discharges its contents when automatically operated mainly in a certain predetermined direction and it provides means whereby the extinguisher' may be so supported and the ydirection of discharge so adjusted that the contents thereof will strike. with particular effectiveness any designated place at which a fire is most likely to originate.'`

rlhis supjiorting device is arranged, moreover, to hold the extinguisher securely in its adjusted position, this feature being of particular importance. when the support is subject to vibration as on a motor vehicle. lvicans are provided, furthemore, to render the extinguisher readily removable from the support so that it may be used manually to quench a lire remote from the place where the extinguisher is supported.

The invention contemplates, furthermore,v an automobile or other vehicle having an ein1 tinguisher of the type described mounted under thehood preferably at the rear wall of the engine compartment, with the directionl of discharge oriented on the carburetor or other place at which a fire is most likely to occur. rlhe extinguisher stands, thus, as a guard between the engine compartment and the body or combustible portion of the vehicle within or in rear of which the lgasoline tank is ordinarily located. The extinguisher is thus ready at all times to smother a fire originating under the hood at its inw ception but is nevertheless easily accessible for manual operation when the seat of the conilagration is elsewhere.

A good understanding of the above, and of various other features and objects of the invent-ion, may be had from the following description of certain spefic forms ofy ernbodiment thereof and manners of practicing the same., reference being made to the ac. companying drawings, in which:

Figure lis a side elevation Ot the eatinguisher mounted upon the bracket, parts being shown in section;

Figure 2 is a front view of the bracket, the extinguisher being indicate-d in dotted lines; Figure 3 is a plan view of the upper end of the bracket, the upper end of the extinguisher being indicated in dotted lines;

Figure l is a view similar to Figure 3 showing a modified form of construction;

Figure 5 is a view showing the member 7 of Figure 1 asseen from the left hand side thereof;

`Figure 6 is a view showing an automobile, the engine compartment of which is provided with an extinguisher in accordance with my invention.

Similar characters of reference designate similar parts in each of the several views.

Referring to the drawings, the extinguisher E is shown as comprising a body portion l consisting of a glass bottle having a neck Q of reduced diameter at its lower end. The surface of the bottle is formed of a plurality of longitudinally extending flat surfaces 3, but adjacent the upper end of the bottle. the flat surfaces at the side and rear thereof are interrupted intermediate their lengths by asmooth curved surface l in the form vof a narrowband extending around substantially one-half or two thirds of the circumference of the bottle. Above and below the curved surface i the bottle is provided with ribs 5 co-extensive with the `Curved surface.

At its lower end the bottle is provided i with a. head comprising a cap 6, secured to the neck in any suitable manner, to which is removably attached a bracket 7 having a downwardly extending substantially arcshapedportion 8, the inner surface of which serves to deflect the extinguishing fluid in a lateral direction, in a diverging fan-shaped sp1-ayt The discharge opening of the bottle is closed by a valve member 9 which is held closed by a pair of levers l0 supported upon a screw 11 carried by a bracket 7 and having their outer ends normally held in engagement with one another by fusible solder. As long as the levers are held in their normal position, lthe valve member will be held closed, but if the solder is subjectedrto a temperature suliicient to melt the same, the levers will separate, thus permitting them to rotate about their points of support owing to the pressure within'the bottle, and the valve member will be forced from its seat, and, together with the levers, will drop out of the way and permit the extinguishing fluid to be expelled from the bottle. A ring 10ZL made of Celluloid or other highly inflammable material is hung from the levers 10, as shown in Fig. 1, this ring being provided for the purpose of being ignited by flame which but momentarily touches the fuse and the heat of which is, therefore, insufiicient to melt the solder. This ring, when ignited, flares up and generates suiiicient heat to melt the solder and thus release the contents of the extinguisher. The outer surface of the ring is preferably serrated, as shown, the purpose of this being to enhance the ignitibility of the ring, the many corners serving to catch the llame and set oft the whole ring. It is, of course, to be understood that the particular form of automatic releasing means shown is illustrative of a suitable construction which may be employed, and that any other suitable releasing means for accomplishing the desired object may be used in place thereof.

The bottle .is filled nearly full with a suitable extinguishing liquid, the remaining space being filled with a gas under pressure. While any suitable liquid may be employed, I prefer to use carbon tetrachlorid, either alone or in combination with another suit-V able chemicahas it is extremely efficient for extinguishing fire.

Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 8, the bracket upon which the extinguisher is supported comprises a vertical base member 12, preferably of channel shape and having outwardly extending flanges 13 provided with perforations to receive screws 14, or other fastening devices, by means of which the base is secured to a suitable support, such as a wall of a room or compartment7 or the dash of an automobile, or the like. If desired, the central portion of the base may be provided with suitable slots 15 adapted to engage with additional fastening devices such as screws 16. The screws 16 will ordinarily be sufficient whenL the bracket is mounted on the wall of a room, but when the extinguisher is to be mount-ed in a place where it will be subject to considerable vibration, as under the hood of an automobile, then the screws 111 are preferably used. Secured to the upper end of the base member is a clamping member 18 having outwardly extending curved arms 19 adapted to engage the smooth curved surface Ll and'to be positioned between the ribs 5, whereby vertical or longitudinal movement of the extinguisher with respect to the bracket is prevented. The outer ends of the arms 19 are bent outwardly, as indicated at 20, and are provided with notches 21 adapted to receive the ends of a coiled spring 2,2, as Clearly shown inFigures 1 and 2. The spring 22, which is under tension, engages the front. portionof the surface of the bottle between the outer ends of the arms 19 and as this surface is formed of a plurality of flat surfaces 8, the spring will conform to the flat surfaces and owing to the pressure of the spring thereon the extinguisher will be held against rotary movement relatively to the bracket. This will not prevent the extinguisher from being rotated about its vertical axis by forcibly turning it by hand whereby it may be adjusted upon the bracket to cause it to discharge in a predetermined direction, but it will be securely held in such adjusted position and prevented from accidental rotary or longitudinal movement with respect to the bracket, by the spring 22 coacting with the fiat surface portions 3, and by the arms 19 coacting with the ribs 5. The extinguisher will therefore be effectively prevented from being moved from its proper operative position upon the bracket when subjected to vibration, such as will occur when it is used upon an automobile or other vehicle.

v In order to provide for the quick removal of the extinguisher from the bracket when it is desired to operate it manually, one end of the spring 22 has secured thereto a member 23 adapted to be gripped by the fingers and to be pulled in a direction away from the bracket whereupon the end of the spring will be released from the notches 21 in the arm 19, thus permitting the extinguisher to be lifted from the bracket.

After the extinguisher has been removed the bracket 7 is unscrewed from the cap 6 and discarded together with levers 10 and valve member 9, the neck of the bottle being held upwardly during this operation to permit of the escape of the pressure charge. rllhe container is then shaken or swung in such a manner as to cause the liquid to be thrown at the base of the flames in a series of spurts. This agit-ation serves to liberate the gas dissolved inthe liquid, bringing about an extremely'rapid efflux of the liquid, as explained hereinafter.

In the modification illustrated in Figure ll, the base member 12 of the bracket has secured to its upper end a supporting member 24 having curved spring arms 25 provided wth recesses 26 adiacent their outer ends, and the bottle 27, constituting the body yportion of the extinguisher, is provided at each side thereof with a plurality of projections 28 adapted to be received within the recesses 26 whereby the extinguisher will be held against' vertical or rotary movement. The extinguisher may be adjusted upon the bracket to cause it to discharge in the desired direction by turning it about its vertical axis until t-he proper ones of the pro- ]'SCQDS 28 are engaged by the recesses 26 in the extinguisher from the bracket it is n'ierely necessary to lift the same toy disen' gage it from the lower supporting member and then draw it outwardly, duringy which movement the spring arms 25 will be spread apart to cause the projectionsv 28 to be released from the recesses 29 and to permit the bottle tobe withdrawn from the member 24.

Figure G shows the extinguisher E attached to the dash board l0 or other rear wall of the engine compartment of an automobile A', `of which is illustrated the motor ill with its carburetor 42, the hood i3 being shown partly broken away. The location f the extinguisher'at the dash boardhas the advantage that the liames from a fire which may occur in the engine compartment are driven backward against the extinguisher fuse by the draft created by the' fan i8 when the engine is turning, thus causing an early release thereof, before the lire has time to gain headway. Owing to the Celluloid ring, the momentary flare-up brought about by the ignition of gasoline, as when the lire originates in the carburetor, is suiiicient to set-off the extinguisher, the momentary fia-me being blown against the fuse by the draft under the hood.' The height at which the extinguisher' is secured to the dashboard and the lateral direction which is given to the nozzle thereof is such that the larger portion of the discharged liquid impinges on any designated part of the engine, such as the carburetor, which is ordinarily the most probable source of re.

ln the drawing the extinguisher is illustrated as discharging its contents. The liquid strikes the lower arc-shaped portion of the bracket 8 and is deflected thereby laterally in a substantially fan-shaped spray. Owing to the high pressure of gas in the receptacle the liquid is expelled at a high velocity and covers a wide area` of the surface to which its discharge is oriented. A goed portion of the liquid strikes the hot motor surfaces whereby it is rapidly evaporated. The large volume of gas thus generated soon displaces the air under the hood and makes the existence of fire thereunder impossible. The extinguisher stands, thus, as aguard between the engine compartment and the body portion of the vehicle, ready at all times and entirely automatically to check a lire at its source. This feature of the extinguisher is accentuated by means of a small slot-shaped opening 8a in the rear of bracket 8, (see Fig. through which a small amount of the liquid escapes and runs down the dash-board 40, thus preventing the dash board from taking fire and providing an additional barrier to the rearward spread of the Haines.

Although the extinguisher is illustrated in Fig. 6 as applied to an automobile, it is to be understood that the sameisnot thus limJ ited in use, heilig capable of embodiment for many widely dilferent purposes. ln the ease of the motor vehicle, rapidity of vaporization is enhanced by the het motor surfaces, as above explained, but even in instances where the extinguisher is used in places where there are no preheated surfaces outside the actual seat of the fire, there a high rapidity of volatilization because the air dissolved in the liquid causes the same to effervesce beforeV it strikes the burning` material. This effect is especially noticeable when the extinguisher is operated manually and the container during` operation of the extinguisher is shaken with the nozzle directed. tward the lire. This agitation of the liquid serves to liberate the dissolved air more quickly so that the liquid effervesees while still in the container, the resulting increase of velurne having the additional .effect of recreating a pressure charge in the container and forcing the liquid out at a high velocity in a series of spurts. The eflervescing, moreover, has the advantage that the liquid in such state covers a larger area of the burning material and is retained better by the surface thereof, thus assisting considerably in the effectiveness of the extinguisher.

It should here be noted that the fan draft which blows the flames from the heat of the fire against the fuse does not apprecie-bly interfere with the action of the extinguisher, for t-he reason that the contents is in the form of a liquid while it passes from the nozzle to the base of the flames and travels at a high velocity owing to the air pressure within the container. Vaporization of the liquid, therefore, takes place directly at the seat of the lire and the same is extinguished before the gas can be displaced. Moreover, when the extinguisher has commenced to operate, the engine will ordinarily have been brought to a stop by the operator of the vehicle, so that there is no draft to interfere with the work of the extinguisher.

It will thus be seen that with the extinguisher located in the position described7 lire under the hood is quenched automatically without necessitating the lifting of the hood. A further advantage resides in the fact that the extinguisher is concealec, thus rendering the same less subject to theft, although it nevertheless remains easily acces sible for manual operation in the manner described in case the seat of the lire is elsewhere than the engine compartment. rlhe dash-board, moreover, provides a iirm vertical support and the adjustable bracket for the extinguisher holds the same against excessive vibration but permits orientation of the jet in the manner described.

Still another advantage incident to the location of the extinguisher under the hood is that due to the proximity of the engine the lOO .llO

normal temperature of the space surrounding the extinguisher is considerable. The liquid, therefore, is maintained at a temperature usually not far from the boiling point, and upon the occurrence of a ire it Will be quickly heated to such a point as to augment the pressure in the extinguisher. Should, there for any reason, be no initial or stored pressure in the extinguisher, the vapor' pressure ofthe liquid will be suiiicient to force the liquid out with considerable. velocity. Carbon-tetrachlorid is especially useful in an extinguisher to be mounted in this location as the average temperature under an automobile hood is somewhat, but not greatly, lower than the boiling point of the liquid. For this reason the temperature is normally insuliieient to vaporize the liquid, and therefore the danger of excessive pressure is avoided., While the necessary pressure Will be created quickly when required, by a slight rise in temperature.

lVhile I have illustrated and described in detail certain preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that various modifications may be made therein, and I do not therefore desire to limit myself to the specific construction set forth, but intend to cover my invention broadly in Whatever form its principle may be employed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

The combination with a motor vehicle having an engine compartment of a portable fire extinguisher in said compartment, said extinguisher comprising a receptacle having a discharge orifice opening directly to the atmosphere and thermally sensitive means normally closing ysaid orilice, and means adjustably supporting the extinguisher to cnable it to be set up to discharge toward the probable seat of a fire on actuation of said closing means, said supporting means being also constructed tofpermit the ready removal of the extinguisher for use elsewhere.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature to this specification.

HARRISON I-I. ROYCE. 

